


They Shine Brighter Outside

by chonkadonk



Category: HLVRAI - Fandom, Half-Life, Half-Life VR But The AI Is Self Aware
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:48:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25689841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chonkadonk/pseuds/chonkadonk
Summary: dr. coomer sneaks the ultimate lifeform, experiment 8U88Y or "BUBBY" outside for the very first time
Relationships: Bubby & Dr. Coomer (Half-Life), Bubby/Dr. Coomer (Half-Life)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 130





	They Shine Brighter Outside

**Author's Note:**

> YA BOYS BACK with more gay, but this time, old men!!! inspired by rp stuff

_ “Come along, Bubby!” _ Dr. Coomer’s voice was a gentle hiss in the night. He shouldn’t have been doing this. He really,  _ really _ shouldn’t have been doing this. He could lose his position on the project — hell, he could lose his  _ job at Black Mesa _ if they were caught — but the thrill of that was part of what made it more inviting, more exhilerating. 

He took the other’s hand in his own — one hand being much more experienced, calloused by time and work and lots and  _ lots _ of punching, with short, thick fingers, the other softer, slimmer and longer, a hand that had yet to be exposed to the hardships of the world. And despite their differences, those hands fit together so snugly, so perfect. As though they were made for each other.

Bubby normally was one to ask  _ many _ questions, but with the doctor, he felt as though all of them would be answered. The doctor was often very good about making sure none of his queries went unanswered. It was a very, very confusing scenario, though. The doctor had taken him out of his tube late at night, something he  _ knew _ the doctor was not authorized to do, and told him to be very, very quiet, said that he’d explain everything soon enough.

The two snuck quietly through the hallways, passing by a few guards who Coomer simply nodded silently to and received a nod in kind; he had... reached an understanding with several nightshift guards, to say the least. They wouldn’t snitch, to put it simply. It feels like an eternity before they finally reach an exit, an exit that Dr. Coomer is quick to give a retinal scan to and slip through, pulling Bubby alongside him.

Finally, out into the open air — not fully  _ outside _ of Black Mesa, no, not at all, but in an area with open space, surrounded by large rock walls enclosing their location, and —

“There, Bubby,” Dr. Coomer whispered, “Look up. Above us.” A finger pointed up to the sky, and at first, Bubby wasn’t quite sure  _ what _ he should be looking at, when —

“Oh,” he said quietly, “oh.” And then he realized. Above them, sprinkling the sky, millions and millions of little lights — stars, he knew they were called. An endless night sky full of stars.

“Oh, Doctor,” he repeated, reaching over and grabbing onto Coomer’s shoulder. “Doctor, it’s...”

“Spectacular, isn’t it? Come, Bubby, let’s sit. I can tell you all about the stars.” He lightly tugged Bubby’s hand, with the rest of the man following suit.

And there they sat, backs pressed to a cold metallic wall, gazing at the cosmos above them. Coomer spent much of the night pointing out and naming off various constellations, some complete with the mythos behind them if he knew it. On and on this went — the twelve constellations of the zodiac, Ursa Major and Minor, Orion and his belt, Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Delphinus — for what felt like hours upon hours. And the entire time, Bubby stared up at the night sky, absolutely  _ enamored. _

Black Mesa suddenly, for the first time ever, felt so, so tiny. Miniscule, compared to the vast expanses of space. The stars shone brightly in the man’s eyes, and he soaked up the doctor’s words like a sponge. In that moment, Bubby knew exactly what he wanted to do one day; he wanted to go  _ up there. _ He wanted to make his way up to space. He wanted to become personal with each and every one of those little white lights up there, even if it took him forever. An eternity in the void, with no one but stars for company? Frankly, it sounded like heaven to Bubby. Until then, here he would sit, absorbing all of the knowledge that Coomer would grace him with.

Time passed, and eventually, Coomer motioned for the two to get to their feet. Bubby, reluctantly, did so, but kept his eyes to the skies the entire time. Even as he was pulled back inside by the doctor, his gaze never wandered, not until they were back inside. All he can muster as they return to the stuffy corridors of Black Mesa is, “I want to go there someday, Doctor.” 

“Oh, and you will, Bubby! I’m certain of it,” Coomer cooed in response. It filled him with joy and... other happy, but unidentifiable, feelings, deep within his chest. Adoration, perhaps? Love would be the closest word he could think of, but... ah, nevermind.

The trip back within Black Mesa feels less tense; it is still a quiet journey, but the air between the two men was much, much more relaxed. But that relaxation can only last so long, before they enter the room with Bubby’s tube once again, and they must say their goodbyes. Coomer gives Bubby a firm, only  _ slightly _ bone-crushing hug, one that is not returned but silently appreciated. He settled for a light pat to the doctor’s arm, instead.

“Well, Bubby?” Coomer’s voice is quiet once again as he goes about closing up Bubby’s tube, a task he  _ hated _ (he wanted so, so badly for Bubby to be free) but one that he knew was necessary. “What did you think?”

“It was lovely, Doctor. I would like to go see it again.”

A warm chuckle. “I’d love to show you again, Bubby! Perhaps we can do this again later; can’t do it too often, or Black Mesa will have our behinds on a silver platter!” A bright grin, and as the tube begins to fill with that  _ horrid _ green goop, Coomer pressed his hand up against the glass. Bubby mimicked this, and if he thought hard enough, he could feel that rough palm against his own.

“Well, goodnight, Bubby. I’ll see you again in the morning, okay?”

“Yes. Goodnight, Doctor.”

And Bubby watched as the doctor left quietly, watched as always, floating silently in his tube. Well... Silently, until he was not.

“Aries... Cancer... Capricornus... Gemini...”

He’d be repeating those names to himself for weeks to come. He wanted to remember, after all, if the doctor would be taking him outside once more.


End file.
